Film career
Success (2009–present)
She had four releases in 2009; she first starred in another Tamil film Modhi Vilayadu, which garnered mixed reviews and was a financial failure, following which she appeared in the high-budget Telugu historical drama Magadheera, which saw her essaying double roles for the first time. The film, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, received universal critical acclaim, while Kajal, particularly, was praised for her portrayal of a princess in the film. Rediff wrote that she "was quite a surprise package, sweet and charming and looked like an 'ethereal' princess. She carries off both the roles fairly well",while NDTV cited that "Kajal Agarwal is also an asset to the film. She is very apt for the character of the princess. Besides filling the glamour slot, she has proven that given a chance, she too can give an excellent performance".The film was also highly commercially successful and broke several records,emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time. Magadheera's enormous success turned Kajal into one of the most sought-after actresses in the Telugu film industry and catapulted her into the main foray of lead Telugu actresses.Her subsequent releases Ganesh Just Ganesh and Arya 2 received mixed reviews from critics, while her performance garnered positive feedback.
